


A Driving Lesson

by aameyalli



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:22:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24390505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aameyalli/pseuds/aameyalli
Summary: “You don’t really think I’m a jerk, do you?” Oof. Liam sits back against the headrest. Ryder’s not, like, still thinking about that? “I dunno,” he says, then laughs a little bit. “A little?”
Relationships: Liam Kosta & Ryder, Liam Kosta/Male Ryder | Scott, Liam Kosta/Ryder
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	A Driving Lesson

**Author's Note:**

> this is pretty much apropos of nothing, just wanted some practice with voices! idk if i’ll write more with them but... the endgame is scott/liam/peebee 🤫 u can see my scott at @hawkepockets on tumblr!

Ryder is full of shit about the Nomad. Everyone’s allowed to drive it, not just the Pathfinder. Liam knows ‘cos he asked Suvi to look it up, and Suvi called Cora, and Cora didn’t even let her finish the question before saying “Not just the Pathfinder,” because Cora’s like, half AI on her father’s side or something. At least when it comes to knowing Pathfinder rules. Lucky for Liam, ‘cos Ryder is always pulling new ones out of his ass like, Pathfinders are allowed to have a pet pyjak and never clean the bathroom and no one else can ever drive the car. But yeah, no, Liam’s allowed to drive, and unlike Ryder he has two good eyes, so he’s gonna.

Right now, the Nomad is parked and locked in place aboard the ship, so nothing happens when he steps on the gas, but he’s stepping anyway, and messing around with the buttons and brakes, getting a feel for the machine. He’s pretty sure he’s got a better grasp on it than Ryder does already.

The Pathfinder is “supervising” from the passenger’s seat, but Liam can hear the beepy, twinkly music from his ancient Nintendo without even looking, so like, he’s clearly just here to be annoying.

“Vroom vroom,” says Liam, just to bother him back.

“Eyes on the road, kid. Don’t forget your signals,” says Ryder, unbothered.

There’s no turn signals in the Nomad. Obviously. But this button turns on the headlights, which is kinda cool. Liam didn’t know the Nomad _had_ headlights. All those times gunning it through dark caves on Eos, hitting every rock and wall and alien he could find, Ryder never once turned on the headlights, _that’s_ for damn sure. Liam flashes them a few times, then a few more times, then a bunch of times to the rhythm of “Stayin’ Alive.”

“OK, I get it,” Ryder groans. “I’ll use the lights next time.”

“Oh, no. _I’ll_ use them next time,” Liam says, flicking the headlights off. “You’re lucky if we ever let you drive again.”

“I bet you’re worse than me.”

“The _monkey_ can’t be worse than you.”

“I bet you drive like an old guy.” Ooh, has Liam actually hit a _nerve?_ Ryder’s thumbs punch hard at the buttons on his game. “I bet you drive really slow, and every time you’re at a stop sign you look around like—ah! ah!—and you’re too scared to go and then you get rear ended by a Honda.”

“Do not.”

“And you brake every time there’s a squirrel in the road.”

Liam scoffs. “Well, _yeah_. You’d run over a cute little squirrel?”

“I run over kett.”

“Yeah, well, kett are monsters. Squirrel never hurt anybody.”

“You never know.”

“‘Course, maybe if you had two working eyes—“ _Oof_. Liam breaks off. He totally didn’t mean for _that_ to come out. His face goes hot, and he hopes Scott doesn’t notice how hard he’s just jammed his foot in his mouth. He casts his eyes around for a distraction. “Ooh!” Liam has found the Nomad’s horn. He honks twice, and Gil’s voice crackles in over the comm to say, _“Shut the hell up! Tryna sleep on the job.”_

Liam hits the horn one more time and holds it down, which triggers a burst of swear words from both Gil and Suvi’s comm lines. Liam snickers. Suvi’s way better than Gil at swearing, like it’s _super_ vile, which is great because she’s like, four foot whatever and always eating flowers.

In the quiet after the long, loud honk, he notices the sound from Ryder’s Nintendo has paused. Liam turns in his seat. Ryder’s dropped his game in his lap and is just sort of looking—not at Liam, or the comm speaker, but at his reflection, tiny, in the small black screen. It’s kind of funny, him brooding like somebody in a music vid. But it also kind of makes Liam’s stomach pinch. ‘Specially ‘cos Liam’s sitting on Ryder’s bad side and the burn over his eye looks really big and angry from this angle. Liam’s never asked if it still hurts. It looks like it hurts. He shouldn’t have brought up the eye, probably. Definitely.

“Hey,” he says, punching Ryder’s shoulder. “What’s up?”

“Chicken butt,” Scott says, singsong. Then, a total non sequitur: “You don’t really think I’m a jerk, do you?”

Oof. Liam sits back against the headrest. Ryder’s not, like, still _thinking_ about that? It’s been ages since Liam called him a jerk, and he immediately chased it with... he couldn’t remember. Something nice. Ryder‘s his bro. Liam’s nice to him. They’re cool.

“I dunno,” he says, then laughs a little bit. “A little? I mean, what else do you call it? The jokes, the jacket, cocky gorgeous guy strutting around his spaceship like—“ Liam does his best to throw his hips and shoulders around like Ryder strutting. It doesn’t work that great strapped into a car seat. “You know.”

Ryder splutters. “My _jacket?_ What? What’s wrong with my jacket?”

“It like, literally has ‘I’VE GOT DADDY ISSUES’ spelled out across the chest, man.”

And well, what’s Liam supposed to do, lie about it? It’s _true._ Black leather jacket, a million sizes too big, and Cora, the walking book of Pathfinder facts, says it belonged to Alec Ryder. You don’t need a psychiatrist on board to tell you that’s textbook daddy issues. (But also, they have one, and Lexi says it’s textbook.)

Ryder kind of bobbles his head around, making faces, then says, “OK, that’s fair.” He seems to think for a second. “It’s just, people always said that about Dad. ‘He’s a jerk, he’s a dick, he’s a great man _but…’_ ”

Liam is quiet, hoping he’ll say more if the awkward silence gets long enough. Ryder’s never said a word against his dad before, so Liam wants to hear this. After a long few seconds, Ryder goes on.

“Sara couldn’t stand him. Even Mom said he was a pill. And they didn’t—” Ryder’s voice turns bitter. “They didn’t _know_ him like I did, so whatever, right? Sticks ‘n stones and… stuff.”

“But…?”

“But it’s kind of true. I mean. He didn’t make anyone feel _good_ to be around him.”

“Must’ve been a different brand of jerk then,” says Liam. “Everyone sort of loves you.”

“Hah.”

Liam punches him again, harder this time. It’s supposed to be encouraging. Like, he never meant to hurt Ryder’s feelings. He hopes he didn’t, really.

“Ow,” Ryder whines.

“Oh, come on.”

Ryder rubs his shoulder, but the look he gives Liam is sideways and sneaky. “So you think I’m gorgeous?”

Liam flushes. “I don’t think I said that.”

“You did!”

“Didn’t.” Liam slams on the gas, which of course does nothing but make the engine wheeze and the tires screech against the floor. “Nope. No. Don’t think so! Whatever.”

The Nintendo starts to chime again. Yeah. OK, Ryder. Act all nonchalant about it. That’s not obnoxious at all.

“God,” says Liam. “You’re _such_ a jerk.”

“Gorgeous jerk. And you love me.”

Liam wrenches around. “I didn’t _say_ that—!” Ryder is already unbuckling himself and sliding out of the Nomad, escaping. Liam scrambles to click off his own seatbelt, but it’s stuck. “You’re gonna _get_ it!” he yells. “You better watch out!”

“Whatcha gonna do, Kosta? Airlock me? Friendly fire? Space bugs in my bunk? Maybe K-I-S-S—“

Liam clamps his hands over his ears. “La la la, not listening!”

But he still hears Ryder call out, “You know, I wouldn’t _mind!”_ before he goes strutting out of the garage, doing the stupid hip-and-shoulder thing, in his stupid jacket.

Liam slumps forward in defeat.

His face still feels hot, hotter than before, but it’s just because Ryder’s so good at pushing people’s buttons. That’s it. His forehead hits the steering wheel.

Stupid Pathfinder. Stupid _jerk._

Just a few inches from his eyes, Ryder’s keys dangle from the ignition, flashing in the light, and Liam’s face cracks into a grin. Ryder forgot the keys. It’s _his_ Nomad now.

Still, Liam can’t shake the feeling that he’s won a battle and lost a war he didn’t even know he was fighting.


End file.
